


The last to know

by forabeatofadrum (maanorchidee)



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Aftermath of Coming Out, Canon Compliant, Happy Ending, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-06 05:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14050017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maanorchidee/pseuds/forabeatofadrum
Summary: Dicky has kissed another man on TV and Suzanne feels hurt. No, not because he’s gay. She’s hurt that Dicky has told everyone that he’s gay. Everyone but her.





	The last to know

**Author's Note:**

> Are we all ready for Year 4?

**Son =-)**

_**(10:23pm)**  oh I bet it’s loud! since y’all are so close to the ice. we spotted your friend crappy_

_**(10:24pm)**  me and your daddy just about a heart attack!_

_**(10:24pm)**  are y’all out on the ice already???_

_**(10:25pm)**  ignore me! have fun!! GO FALCS!!!!!_

_**(10:30pm)** dicky_

_**(10:30pm)**  I think we need to talk_

_**(10:40pm)** dicky, please_

_**(10:40pm)** your daddy and I are not mad I promise_

_**(10:45pm)** eric_

* * *

It is pretty obvious why Dicky can’t answer his mother’s texts right now. Suzanne and Richard are sitting next to each other on the couch, watching the Falconers win, and they see Dicky on screen the entire time.

And their son just kissed their lead scorer.

On national TV.

At first, Suzanne felt some weird sense of sadness. She wasn’t sad about the fact that her son kissed another man on TV, but she realised that he must’ve kept this to himself for so long. 

“Why didn’t he tell us?” Suzanne had asked Richard.

He just shook his head as he muted his own phone. It was blowing up with messages. After all, Richard had told all his friends about the Falconers and they were all watching.

“I don’t know.”

Suzanne felt her heart break for her son. The fact that he had to keep all of this to himself. That he had no one, except for Jack, to talk to about him being gay. Suzanne wanted to hug her son through the screen.

But then something changed. The camera was still on her son kissing Jack, when suddenly Mr. Crappy slammed his body against Jack. Mr. Crappy started hugging Jack while sobbing.

He didn’t blink an eye at the kiss.

And Suzanne thought that it was understandable. Suzanne knows that Mr. Crappy is Jack’s best friend and he’s also become a great friend of Dicky, so of course they had shared their big secret with him.

On TV, Dicky was laughing and he took a step back. After all, it looked like Mr. Crappy was crying all over Jack.

But then Bob Zimmermann walked to her son. Next to her, Richard’s eyes went wide. What was going to happen? What did Bad Bob Zimmermann have to say about Dicky kissing his son on TV.

To their surprise, Bob put his hand on Dicky’s shoulder and they exchanged some words. It was too casual. Too normal. The commentators on TV picked it up as well and they came to the same conclusion: Bob Zimmermann knew about his son dating another man.

Before the Falcs skated off the ice, the camera man turned to Jack one last time. He and Dicky were in the middle of a big group hug. 

The team has known all this time.

Suzanne’s heart breaks again, but for a different reason this time.

Dicky told a lot of people.

But not her.

* * *

“What am I supposed to say?” Richard asks.

They’re ready for bed, but they both know they won’t be able to sleep. 

“About what?”

Richard holds up his phone. “Suzanne, I have so many messages. Everyone saw Dicky kiss Jack on TV. The entire community knows now. I’ve told everyone I know that Dicky is friends with an NHL player, but they are more than friends. The neighbours are probably talking about our Dicky right now.”

“He’s gay, Rick. What else can we say to the others?” 

Richard shrugs, but he puts away his phone and he crawls into bed, next to her. “I don’t want him to get hurt.”

Suzanne sighs. “I know how you feel.”

* * *

Suzanne got up early to watch the presser. Dicky isn’t there, which is understandable, but Jack is. 

He gets asked a lot of questions and as predicted, they’re not all about the game. But Suzanne notices something. Every time a reporter tries to ask a personal question, the others jump in.

Suzanne watches all the Falconers gush over how amazing Dicky is, and how great of a player he is and “wow did you know he is the captain of an NCAA hockey team now?” and “did you try his pies, dude, you have to they are pure magic!”

And every time, Jack sits back, smiles, and he enjoys the show. The only questions he actually manages to answer are the hockey related questions.

Richard shuffles into the living room. “What are you watching, sweetpea?” He still looks sleepy and he’s holding two mugs filled with coffee. 

“The Falconers press thing,” Suzanne says.

That shakes Richard awake. He puts down the mugs and he rubs his eyes. “And what does Jack have to say about, uhm, yesterday’s kiss?”

“Nothing!” Suzanne cries out.

“Nothing?”

“Absolutely nothing, Rick! And do you want to know why?”

“Why?” Richard asks.

“Because all the other Falconers answers his questions about Dicky. All the other Falconers have known that he and Jack are dating for weeks. They all know our son, Rick.”

“… Suzanne.”

“Dicky’s told all those people, but not us.” And suddenly she’s crying. Richard kneels next to her and he pulls her close. 

“It’s okay.”

Suzanne sniffs. “But it’s not. Dicky… We used to tell each other everything. Why didn’t he tell me?”

* * *

Suzanne has been calling Dicky the entire time. Richard has told her to stop, because Dicky might need space, but Suzanne needs to know if he’s okay.

Somewhere around noon, someone picks up.

“Good morning. Jack Zimmermann’s personal pong palace?”

That is not her son.

“Mr. Crappy?”

“Oh- wh-”

Sure, it isn’t her son, but she has hope. “Mr. Crappy, this is Suzanne Bittle. Is my son Dicky around?”

“Oh. I? Uh, Bitty’s- Dicky’s- Eric’s not. Or he left his phone…  _ **here**_ ,” Mr. Crappy sounds a bit confused.

“So he’s not around?” Suzanne feels dissapointed.

“I can, um. Tell him you called?”

“That’d be nice. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Bittle.”

Then the line goes dead.

* * *

It’s been almost a full day since the Falconers’ win. Dicky still hasn’t called. He still hasn’t returned his texts.

Suzanne knows about his video blog.

She’s never gone looking for it. Dicky has told her that he does not want her to watch her videos, so Suzanne never did. But now, she’s desperate.

Where did it go wrong?

Why didn’t he tell her?

She googles her son’s name and “video blog youtube baking skating” and to her surprise, she finds his YouTube channel. That evening, she spends most of the time watching her son’s videos.

They’re funny, they’re entertaining and they’re filled with her son’s happiness and charisma. And he’s been out in every one of them. At one point, he even starts mentioning that he has started seeing someone. 

“He’s already met the family.  _You know_. They didn’t know exactly that they met  _him_ ,” Dicky says on screen with a huge smile on his face and there’s a tone of amusement in his voice. It’s as if he’s sharing some inside information with his audience.

Suzanne checks his subscribers. He doesn’t have that many of them, but there are still a lot. And they’ve all known this entire time.

* * *

Suzanne Bittle loves her sister for three reasons: a) Judy is kind and funny, b) Judy is always there to listen to her and c) Judy speaks her mind.

Although, the latter sometimes frustrates her.

It’s been almost two days since the big game and Suzanne has asked Judy to meet her for tea. Of course, they joke about the jam feud, but then Suzanne starts to talk about the past two days.

“…and he hasn’t told me at all!”

“Suzy, I have to stop you right there,” Judy says at one point, “Have you ever considered that Dicky doesn’t owe you anything?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re hurt because apparently, Dicky has been living his life as an out gay man everywhere except for here. Okay, I guess that stings, especially since you guys have always been able to talk about things. That being said, Dicky still doesn’t owe it to you to come out.”

“I am his mother!”

“And I am his aunt,” Judy rolls her eyes, “Doesn’t automatically entitle me to something so personal.”

Suzanne huffs. She wanted Judy to listen to her complaints. That’s all. Suzanne still hasn’t heard anything from her son and she needs to let out all her frustrations.

“God, again, I get why you are kind of hurt, but don’t you think it’s time to look past that, Suzy? Have you ever thought why Dicky didn’t tell you and Rick?”

“I…” No. She hasn’t. Suzanne has been so focused on feeling hurt and betrayed that she didn’t even think about that.

“When the Madsons threw out their daughter Brooklyn, because they caught her with another girl, did you and Rick say anything about that?” 

“No, I mean- why would we- I- of course, it is bad but it is none of our business.”

“Now, I don’t mean to put myself on a higher pedestal, but Doug and I talked about that and about how we wanted to take her in. We did that in front of our kids. Not deliberately, but they must’ve heard it,” Judy says, “We don’t talk much about these gay things in our home, but I hope that our kids got the message that Doug and I condemn those actions of homophobia. Poor Brooklyn. She’d already run away, otherwise we would’ve picked her up right away.”

“Are you trying to tell me that is is my fault that Dicky didn’t tell me?” Suzanne says sternly.

“No, Suzy, but think about it. We live in the South, which already has a reputation for being conservative. Now, something like this happens and Dicky must’ve been terrified. Brooklyn and Dicky were in the same history class. Dicky knew Brooklyn, and he had to see how she disappeared one day. And rumours started circulating. And remember what the Claudes said to the Madsons? They told them that they did the right thing. This is the environment Dicky grew up in.”

“And… Rick and I never showed any indication that we were against the Madsons actions,” Suzanne says, mostly to herself.

Judy puts down her cup of tea and she takes her sister’s hand.

“Suzy, we’re sisters. I know you through and through and I know you and Rick are honest people. You’d never do that to Dicky. You’d never hurt him intentionally. But Dicky was a scared little boy, and maybe, just maybe he started thinking that the two of you shared the same views as the Madsons and other people who still think homosexuality is a sin.”

Suzanne feels like the world stops spinning and that there’s at least one thing that she understands. But she’s also filled with dread. Judy is right. Suzanne is not homophobic, but how does her son know that?

Dicky’s always been different. But what did she do? What did she and Richard decide? Instead of telling Dicky that there’s nothing wrong with him, they decided to pack their bags and flee from these problems.

And those jokes. Richard used to make those jokes about some boys on his team being pansies, because they weren’t in the right shape. They were jokes, obviously, and Richard always laughed the most, but what must’ve gone through Dicky’s head? 

“Oh no, what have I done?” Suzanne clutches her chest.

“Hey, no, Suzy, none of that now!” Judy moves closer to hug her sister, “Yes, you messed up and you may have hurt your son, but it wasn’t intentional. He needs to know that. Let him realise that you’ve realised what has happened. Show him that you love him.”

“He must be so mad at me,” Suzanne sniffs.

“I don’t think so, Suzy,” Judy says, “More hurt than anger. But it is time to set that right and show that it was one big misunderstanding. Suzy, Doug and I follow hockey news now, and… not all of it is good. There are people saying awful and unspeakable things about your son and Jack.”

“Oh… God…”

“He needs his mama now, more than ever. And his daddy. Be there for him and show him that you support him. Most importantly, don’t be disappointed in him or hurt because he didn’t tell you.”

* * *

**Son =-)**

_**(3:24pm)**  Dicky. Eric. Your daddy and I talked about it and we just want you to know that we love you so much, no matter your sexuality. And we are very sorry if we ever gave you a reason to be afraid of us. We love you, no matter what. We have always loved you and we will continue to love you. And we love Jack!!! He is very charming and we’re very happy that you’ve found each other. Tell him we’re proud of him for winning the cup! Dicky, just know that you can always call us and talk to us if you need us. No rush, of course. If you want some space, then you can take it. We won’t get mad! We’ll be waiting for you. Hug and kisses from mama and daddy xx_

* * *

Another day passes.

Still no word from Dicky.

Suzanne and Rick don’t try to dwell on it. 

Their community has obviously seen their son kiss Jack on TV, and some people try to talk to them about that. But Suzanne and Richard make sure that everyone in their town knows that they love Dicky very much and Richard has started talking about what a fine young man Jack is to his friends and colleagues. Suzanne has promptly given the cold shoulder to the Madsons and the Claudes and all the other neighbours that try to talk badly about her son.

But apart from that, they can only wait.

After four days of waiting, Suzanne is done.

“Dicky,” she says into the phone, “Please tell me you’re okay. Love, mama.” 

“Suzanne, he will be fine,” Richard says, “He has all his friends.”

But still, she worries. Judy has told her not to look up her son online. According to Judy, he and Jack have gotten a lot of support, but there are also threats and other hate comments. Suzanne knows that her son is an grown adult now, and that he can handle himself, but she’s afraid. 

What if someone actually hurts her son?

What if?

She breathes in and out and she tries to focus on the happy comments. Judy had read them out loud on the phone. After all, her son is still loved.

“Suzanne, come sit with me and watch TV, okay? It is a rainy evening. Perfect time for our favourite talk shows.”

He’s trying to distract her. Normally, she’d scoff at her husband, but this time she nods and she follows Richard to the living room.

They are in the middle of a rerun of the latest Dr. Phil episode when the doorbell rings.

Richard sighs and he tries to get up, but Suzanne stops him.

“I’ll get it, dear,” she says, “I know you love it when Dr. Phil starts to confront the people he’s speaking to.”

Richard laughs. “Damn right.”

Suzanne rushes towards the front door. It is pouring outside, so she doesn’t want to keep the guest waiting. 

When she opens the door, Dicky and Jack are standing on the porch. Yes, they’re both soaked, but they both have a smile on their faces.

“Hi mama!” Dicky says happily.

And finally, Suzanne can breathe again.


End file.
